Texas Bandmasters Association 2010 Convention/Clinic

july 25-28, 2010Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

San antonio, texaS

2010 Patron Sponsor

MARCHING SHOW CONCEPTS

Sculpting 101

CliniCian:

Lynne Jackson

SponSor: texaS BanDMaSterS aSSoCiation

Every fall, forty or so students

walk into my beginning instrument

classes. I believe there is a “David”

in every one of them, and it is

my job to sculpt; to chip, chip,

chip away day after day after day

until “David”, the young musician,

emerges.

My Tools Just as Michelangelo used

his sculpting tools to reveal his

vision, I use three tools to keep me

grounded so that I might realize

my vision for every student.

1. Good or bad, whatever is happening in my classroom, I am somehow giving permission for it. This tool works great for

me as it means that I must “wrap

my brain” around problems and

challenges and take responsibility

to resolve them. The “blame game”

is not acceptable to me and serves

no real purpose. This tool also

allows me to feel really great about

things that are going well. Teachers

need this kind of balance to remain

enthusiastic and effective.

2. Treat every child the way that I would want my child to be treated in the classroom. I call this the “my child” approach.

This philosophy works particularly

well in heated situations. It reminds

me to respond with intelligent

thoughtfulness instead of unbridled

emotion. The book, Teaching with

Love and Logic by Jim Fay and

David Funk, is a great resource for

this approach.

3. Teach music as a fine art. Beginning instrument class is not band class. In beginning

instrument class we have a fantastic

opportunity to foster the love of

music and musicianship from the

very start. Teach beauty, vocabulary

and an artistic approach to playing

an instrument from the onset.

Three Pans On The Fire On a daily basis, I am

thoughtfully, joyfully and gracefully

managing three aspects of my

classroom: Climate, Culture and Curriculum. While all three

overlap and intersect, ultimately,

one cannot exist without the others.

I believe that many classrooms fail

because one or more of these are

not cared for properly.

Climate:

Manage everything concerning

your classroom environment.

My goal is to cultivate an

environment that allows every

student to feel safe and valued. And,

one that provides the opportunity

for joyful learning. It is my intent

to become a powerful presence

Sculpting 101Lynne Jackson

Italy, 1504. Michelangelo stands before his newly created masterpiece, the David. It is stunning and perfect. An admirer asks, “Michelangelo, how ever did you do this?” As the story goes, Michelangelo replies: “I found a very, very large piece of marble and then I simply took away everything that wasn’t David.”

TEXAS BANDMASTERS ASSOCIATION • CONVENTION/CLINIC 2010

as a teacher not an enforcer. Thus I believe it is

important to “keep your finger on the pulse” of your

class throughout the year. I thoughtfully manage my

classroom seating and frequently teach from various

points in the room.

As my students enter the classroom, I stand at the

podium. I teach them to be purposeful in preparing for

class. I do not engage in

conversation, bark orders

or run the metronome.

There is no multi-tasking

here; simply get ready to

learn. Manage supplies,

practice/objective cards,

notebooks, pencils, reeds

and every other aspect

of your daily routine

on a consistent basis

throughout the year. Keep

your students accountable through communication,

encouragement and consistency. Repetition, repetition,

repetition is the key to success. Maintain YOUR

standards. It may seem easy or expedient to give up

or let up in the face of time constraints or students’

wishes, but this almost always leads to an erosion of

musical achievements, behavioral standards, or both!

I teach bell to bell every day all year long. I do

not believe in “free days”, particularly as rewards.

Remember my rule Number One? If I give a free day as

a reward, I am giving my students permission to think

of our daily class in a negative way. Perhaps not all will,

but it’s out there! If you and your students occasionally

need a change of pace, provide a written assignment or

show a relevant video.

I start my year with one classroom rule: RESPECT.

Respect your equipment, your classmates and your

teacher. Above all, respect yourself. Students with

little self-respect have great difficulty offering respect.

Often, these students can make or break your

classroom environment. I keep a student with a poor

self-image at the front of my mind always. When that

student succeeds, I consider “the door to be open”

and I seize the opportunity to rush in with joy and

praise! Remember, that in one instant a powerful

change can occur. Do

not miss that moment

for anything! The use

of sarcasm, threats or

humiliation, do not

work. When uncom-

fortable situations

arise, try your best to

take emotion out of

the equation. Strive to

set an example for all

your students using

ultimate regard, respect and compassion day after day

after day as you “chip away”.

A Culture of Excellence:

Through the course of the first year of playing, I

intend to create a culture that includes students who

love to practice and perform. We perform the very first

day of class. Our performance consists of a personal

introduction. “My name is Sarah Jones.” The timbre

and strength of the voice, the self-assurance and eye

contact all speak volumes to me. From this point

forward we use our voices most every day in class.

Teach Your Students to Use Their VoicesYou will experience a tremendous payoff when you

teach your students to use their voices. What middle

school student doesn’t love hearing the sound of his/

her own voice? The first year of instrument class is

Sculpting 101

TEXAS BANDMASTERS ASSOCIATION • CONVENTION/CLINIC 2010

THE time to start. We begin by reciting the musical

alphabet and then soon after, counting in fours, twos,

threes and sixes. We also vocalize musical terms, with

an Italian accent I might add. It’s fun and sometimes

very funny! Later, we name notes aloud, count aloud,

hum pitches, sing pitches and say note names on pitch.

I have also observed teachers who use “chants” for key

signatures. Vocalization is wonderful in that students

are engaged and they are performing! I start with the

entire class but eventually I find that students are eager

to perform by themselves. This all reflects back to the

climate you have created in your classroom. Students

who feel safe and valued will embrace and enjoy this

aspect of your curriculum. And, meanwhile your

students are learning to perform! The carry-over to the

instrument is tremendous.

Practicing Here are a few things I believe about practicing.

1. When students are taught well they come to

see the value associated with practicing the

instrument. Practice becomes “irresistible” when

a new “carrot” is placed in front of students

each day.

2. Students must learn to use the information they

have. The trumpet player who hears that his

sound is not clear and has the information and

ability to improve will be practicing tomorrow.

3. Everyone loves to play songs. Give your kids

songs to play.

Create a culture of excellence through practice and

performance.

Curriculum:

Pedagogy should be the heart of the beginning

instrument class. My pedagogy for the first year is:

•Posture

•Embouchure/ToneProduction

•HandPosition

•Breathing

•Articulation

ThesearetheBIGFIVE.Mygoalistohaveallfive

fundamentals well in place for each student as he/she

begins the second year.

PostureThe feet are flat, the spine is straight, the chest is

open, rib cage lifted and shoulders sloped. The head

balances comfortably on the torso and the neck should

be a smooth “swan neck”. Flute posture is an exception

in that the head is slightly turned to the left and then

tilted right. Correct posture provides the gateway to

efficient breathing and tone production. Our body is

simply a container for air.

Embouchure/Tone ProductionThere are four aspects of every embouchure that

must be in place in order for a student to produce an

efficient, resonant tone quality. (CHAT)

Corners

Head Position

Angle of the Instrument

Tongue Placement

I consider the placement of the corners to be the

most important factor for successful tone production.

For brass and flute, the corners should never be

stretched beyond their natural place. For the other

woodwinds, the corners are held more to the center

of the embouchure. If a student has proper equipment

and is still not making a good sound, check these

four aspects of the embouchure. I remain diligent in

monitoring these areas for each student throughout

the year.

Sculpting 101

TEXAS BANDMASTERS ASSOCIATION • CONVENTION/CLINIC 2010

Hand Position I believe that instruments are balanced, not held.

Balancepointsarecriticalinthatapoorhandposition

can adversely affect the ability to produce an efficient,

characteristic sound. A good example is the flute

hand position. If the flute is poorly

balanced, students tend to push the

head-piece into the bottom lip. The

consequence is tension and the result

is a tight, thin sound. As students

mature and grow throughout the

first year, you as the teacher need to

keep “tweaking” hand positions and

instrument placements. In general,

hands are soft; wrists are straight and

fingers curved.

Breathing

To begin, the air must be unobstructed. Correct

breath support is achieved by “volume of air” not

“speed of air”. If our body is poised to take in a large

volume of air, natural exhalation is sufficient to create

proper support. Therefore, I teach my students to let

the air out the body naturally. Do not force the air out

of your body. (This is the school of thought of tubaists

OysteinBaadsvikandArnoldJacobs.)

Articulation If the corners of the embouchure are correct, the

tongue is most always in the place where it should

be to work best. The tongue should be forward

and down for all instruments with the exception of

clarinetist’s tongue, which is raised

in the back. Once again, be sure the

air is unobstructed. The tip of the

tongue moves up and down. The

tongue remains soft and natural.

For the first year, I recommend the

legato style of playing. The ability

to move from note to note with no

space between is the prerequisite for

the intermediate level of playing.

My curriculum for the first year

also includes vocabulary, music

reading, phrasing and limited style

and dynamics. We also learn articulation patterns and

scales.

Diligence is the key. Check posture, hand position,

embouchure, tone production, breathing and

articulation each day. The process is developmental

and must be monitored arduously.

Sculpting 101

Lynne Jackson is currently beginning her 40th year as a music educator. She has happily taught beginning instrument classes each of those. years. Lynne would like to thank everyone who has inspired her throughout her career, which would be just about everyone she knows. Special thanks for this article go to Jeff Cole, Joe Dixon, Debra Haburay, Claire Johnson and Peter Warshaw. It would not have been possible without their wisdom and guidance. Also, Lynne believes that the greatest inspiration in her life was her high school director, Russell D. Reed, who saw a “David” in all of his students.

Do You See David?I strive to see a “David” in every child I teach. As a

result, I have found myself to be a much happier, more

productive and successful teacher. Some “Davids” emerge

sooner than others. Some may be a little more polished,

some not. Some stand taller. Some are not yet so tall.

But,tometheyareallbeautiful.

TEXAS BANDMASTERS ASSOCIATION • CONVENTION/CLINIC 2010